The rural way of life across the County is once again under threat. After rallying to fight large scale school closures which threatened to rip the heart out of village communities now people must join together again in a last ditch attempt to save local post offices.

Local Town and County Councillors and the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate Sarah Carr have stepped up their campaigns to save local post offices, especially the one at Tudorville.

Herefordshire and Ross Town Councillor Phil Cutter told The Ross Gazette: "As one of the Ward Councillors for Ross East I am utterly appalled that Tudorville PO is included in the list of closures.

"It is in walking distance of over a thousand houses and on a main road into Ross. It has given excellent service to the people of Ross and District and supported the community in other ways. What is the reasoning behind closing such a great community resource?

"We are being starved of finance by Central Government and our rural way of life eroded by the day. Please make your voice heard in the so called consultation period."

Sarah Carr, Councillor Jo Lane and Howard Hyman delivered leaflets and collected signatures for a petition in Tudorville last week. Sarah Carr said: "It should not be assumed that people can just get a bus to Ross. There are more than 40 homes for elderly residents in this area and at the other end of the spectrum there are many young families who use pushchairs."

On Tuesday, Paul Keetch MP revealed that an "outreach" outlet trial would begin the day after Tudorville Post Office is closed. He said: "The success of this trial will very much depend on how many local people use it. In simple terms - if they don't use it, they will lose it."

Councillor Anne Gray said: "We must fight to save Tudorville Post Office it is essential for the many people who live in Tudorville and Walford. I would urge everyone to use Tudorville Post Office as often as they can."

Jesse Norman, who has been leading the Save Our Post Offices campaign for over a year, said: "This closure is outrageous. The Tudorville Post Office is very busy and meets huge local needs. It makes no sense to close it and force people to walk or drive into town.

"It appears that Post Office Ltd wants to trial a new service instead. But this is no substitute. No-one knows what the new service would be, and it could be cut at any moment. So we must fight to keep the post office as it is."

Herefordshire is the most sparsely populated county in the West Midlands and has been hit harder than any other part of the region by the post office closure programme. Twenty post offices are earmarked for closure including Bishopswood, Llangrove and Tudorville.

Herefordshire Council has organised a seminar to take place on Wednesday, September 3rd bringing together county councillors, parish councillors, local MPs, Post Office Limited, the independent watchdog Postwatch and the Rural Shops Alliance.

Councillor Adrian Blackshaw, cabinet member for economic development and community services, said: "Herefordshire's rural way of life has been dealt a hammer blow with Post Office Limited intent on axing more outlets here than anywhere else in the West Midlands. Everyone is deeply cynical about the process and although there are assurances that the plans are subject to a six-week consultation, Post Office Limited will have to work hard to convince local people that this isn't a 'done deal".

Jesse Norman also questioned why a busy and successful post office like the one at Tudorville should have been targeted for closure. He said: "Why have they targeted Tudorville at all? We are starting to see a pattern in which healthy and successful post offices are targeted for closure. Perhaps they hope the less successful post offices will close anyway, and do their work for them."

In a detailed submission to the Department of Trade and Industry, Herefordshire Council has previously argued that closure plans would see the marginalisation and exclusion of thousands of vulnerable people, such as older people, low-income families or those without a car, who rely on their local post office.

 The post office consultation ends on October 7th.